Robert Griffin III throws 4 TD passes as Redskins blow out Eagles

LANDOVER, Md. -- There was some serious scoreboard watching in the Washington Redskins locker room. A near-perfect game from Robert Griffin III buoyed the hopes of a team that hadn't won a game in over a month.

In the Philadelphia Eagles locker room, it was the same old same old. The losing streak had reached six games, accelerating the countdown toward the possible end of Andy Reid's 14-year tenure as coach.

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Washington's Robert Griffin III outclassed the hapless Eagles single-handedly in a reversal of fortune from the infamous 2010 blowout, Dan Graziano writes. Blog

Sunday's meeting for last place in the NFC East left a thick line between the Redskins and Eagles. The 31-6 victory allows Washington (4-6) to feel like a playoff contender for at least a few more days, while Philadelphia (3-7) is doomed to spending six more weeks enduring endless questions about the future of the franchise.

"We knew this game right here was going to be make or break for either one of our teams," Washington linebacker London Fletcher said.

The Redskins' hopes remain intact largely because of Griffin, who completed 14 of 15 passes for 200 yards, including touchdown passes of 6, 49, 61 and 17 -- one in each quarter. He also ran 12 times for 84 yards and was again serenaded with chants of "RG3."

"I'm tired of talking about Robert," said Santana Moss, who leaped between two defenders and fought his way into the end zone for the 61-yard score in the third quarter. "Nothing's going to change; Robert's going to go out there and be special. That's the gift that he has, he's a special guy. He brings that kind of `specialness.' I don't know if that's a word, but he brings it to our offense."

There was another chant in the final minutes, the familiar "We want Dallas!" The Redskins have a short week before heading to Texas for a Thanksgiving visit to the Cowboys (5-5), who, by the way, pulled out the win in overtime against the Browns.

"If we had lost today, we're going into this next week with a whole different mindset of, hey, `spoiler' -- maybe fight to see if the stars align just right," Lichtensteiger said. "But now we have a legitimate shot with the way this division is right now. There's definitely a belief right now."

That's a long way from the statement Mike Shanahan made after a loss to Carolina, when the coach pretty much gave up on the postseason and talked about evaluating talent for next year. Shanahan has since changed his tune and says every game the rest of the way is like a playoff game.

RG3 Joins Exclusive List

Robert Griffin III completed 14 of 15 passes in his four-touchdown performance. He also became the third quarterback in NFL history to amass 2,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards in the same season.

2,000 pass yards, 500 rush yards, in rookie year

RookieQuarterback

Pass Yards

Rush Yards

Cam Newton, CAR, 2011

4,051

706

Vince Young, TEN, 2006

2,199

552

Robert Griffin III, WAS, 2012

2,173

584

-- ESPN Stats & Information

"It was a game we had to have," Shanahan said Sunday. "We knew that."

The Redskins also finally found a formula for beating a rookie quarterback: force turnovers and have your own rookie play better. The defense got three takeaways and four sacks while facing Nick Foles, the third-round pick from Arizona who was making his first NFL start because Michael Vick is sidelined with a concussion.

Foles' first drive ended with a pass tipped to DeAngelo Hall for an interception. Foles also got picked on his second drive when he threw into double coverage to safety Brandon Meriweather, who made his season debut after missing the Redskins' first nine games with a knee injury.

The win snapped the Redskins' remarkable eight-game losing streak against rookie quarterbacks that began in 2006.

"That's the kind of football we've been wanting to play all year," said Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, who had a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. "And especially with Philly having a young quarterback, we wanted to really get after him."

Still, the Eagles with Foles resembled the Eagles with Vick: capable of moving the ball downfield, only to have all the hard work negated by turnovers, penalties and a patchwork offensive line.

Philadelphia entered the game with an NFC-worst minus-11 turnover differential; it's now minus-14. The Eagles committed nine penalties for 70 yards, including a pair of first-quarter false starts by right guard Jake Scott, who has been with the team less than a week.

Foles, who made his NFL debut in relief last week after Vick was injured, completed 21 for 46 for 204 yards. LeSean McCoy had 15 carries for 45 yards before being carted off in the final two minutes with a concussion.

"I don't sense a lack of focus," said Reid, who declined to directly answer a question about his job security. "That's not what I sense. I see them playing hard. I see them focusing in at practice. At times, maybe we're trying too hard."

Game notes

The Eagles have their longest in-season losing streak since dropping seven in a row at the end of 1994. ... Griffin completed passes to nine receivers and has only three interceptions in 277 attempts this season. Foles already has three in just 78 attempts. ... Washington last beat a rookie quarterback on Dec. 24, 2005, a 24-9 win over Ryan Fitzpatrick and the St. Louis Rams. ... Meriweather, who had been sidelined with a left knee injury, hurt his right knee in the third quarter, but he's expected to play against Dallas. ... Washington WR Pierre Garcon returned from a foot injury and caught three passes for 5 yards. ... Penalties remain a problem for the Redskins: 13 for 80 yards.

Research Notes

The Eagles ranked among the 3 best teams in the league in terms of opponent completion percentage, yards per attempt and Total QBR through Week 6. But since defensive coordinator Juan Castillo was fired on October 16th, the Eagles rank last in the NFL in all 3 of those categories.

Eagles Defense This Season

Robert Griffin III had a Total QBR of 93.7 in Washington's win over the Eagles, his 3rd game with a 90+ QBR this season.
Entering today, only Peyton Manning (5) had more than 3 such games in 2012.

NEXT LEVEL: Nick Foles had a rough day in his NFL starting debut, completing under 50 percent of his passes with no TDs and 2 interceptions. His Total QBR followed suit as it was the 4th-lowest by any rookie in his debut over the last 5 seasons.

Lowest Total QBR in Starting Debut - Rookies Since 2008

Nick Foles had a 7.2 Total QBR on Sunday. That's lower than any QBR by Michael Vick in any game since 2008 (min. 5 action plays).

The Redskins defense sent at least five pass rushers on 21 of Nick Foles' 50 dropbacks on Sunday, and Foles finished 9-of-20 for 92 yards and both interceptions against added pressure. Washington's 42.0 percent of dropbacks with added pressure was its second-highest percentage this season.

Redskins Defense Sending 5+ Rushers, This Season

1st 9 Gms

Sunday

Pct of tot dropbacks

33.8

42.0

Comp pct

62.5

45.0

Yards/att

8.7

4.6

TD-Int

8-4

0-2

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Robert Griffin III had his most efficient day of the season against a standard pass rush, finishing 11-of-12 for 184 yards and three touchdowns against four or fewer pass rushers. Both of Griffin's throws at least 30 yards downfield came against a standard rush, a 49-yard touchdown to Aldrick Robinson and 61-yard touchdown to Santana Moss. Griffin's average throw against four or fewer rushers was 13.3 yards downfield, his deepest of the season.